Fine Lines
by yaysunshine
Summary: A group of Jedi and Jedi younglings escaping Order 66 attempt to find a way to survive and carry on their Order in a rapidly changing universe. Intertrilogy, incomplete.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created by George Lucas and Lucasfilm LTD. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. This disclaimer applies to all chapters of this work.

Tarryn Kael frowned at the chaos before her. The battle was going very badly--the enemy forces outnumbered hers several to one. She grimaced, and steeled herself for one last run. Then--

"Game over?" she grumbled, glaring at the datapad she'd been playing on. "What in the hells of the Sith is that? Sweet Force, I'm getting rusty." She shut it with a snap, and tucked it in her pack before flopping over backwards on the deck.

"Someone please remind me exactly _why_ we are here in the middle of the night again?" Tarryn demanded, sullenly, from her position at the top of entry hatch of the Jedi cruiser _Serenity_. "Because my brain is telling me that I should really, really be sleeping right now."

"There is no sleep, there is only caf," intoned Piyara Una, a green-skinned Twi'lek woman, as she clambered back up the gangway. "Still no sign of them. I don't know what could possibly be keeping them. It's not so far away, and there shouldn't be much traffic at this time of night--"

"Well, Pi, my dear, there is the matter of our little celebrity..." drawled Syr'la, a brown-furred Bothan, who was leaning against a bulkhead behind Tarryn. "If the People's Inquest got wind of this, they'd be all over the spaceport. It's not surprising the council would want to be hush-hush about this, really. I mean, look at what happened when she came back the last time..."

"I wouldn't mind being secretive during the kriffing _daytime_," muttered Tarryn. "And what, can't they get a contingent of clonetroopers to guard the stupid ship instead? I mean, why us?"

"That would be because I, Daven Vaaris, am obviously adequate, nay, the _best_ defense for anyone or anything," said a dark-haired human male, returning from the bridge. "Of course, I would not go anywhere without you, my friends, my loyal companions--"

Pi gave him a swift smack on the side of his head. "Oh, you stop. It's probably just because we're the newest, youngest, Jedi, so we get all the bum jobs that no one else wants to do. Like, for example, waiting for hours in the middle of the--"

"Shh!" interrupted Syr'la, suddenly, his long ears twitching.

Tarryn laughed lightly. "What, is the People's Inquest coming for us?" The self-proclaimed Jedi watchgroup and their regular protests and petitions on the Jedi Order were something of a joke among the younger Jedi, although the Jedi Council rarely found any of their shenanigans very humorous.

"No, I--" He frowned, cocking an ear toward the entry to the docking bay. "I just thought I heard something. Like blaster fire."  
Frowning as well, Daven gave him a sideways glance. "Are you quite certain? But what--"

"No, I hear them too," Pi cut in, now looking concerned. "It's a lot clearer, now, you should be able to hear it in a couple seconds. It's definitely... well, but the People's Inquest wouldn't do something like this, would they?"

"No, they wouldn't," Tarryn agreed, trying to keep her tone light and even. "Pi, why don't you prep the ship for takeoff? And, let's see--"

"I'll go ahead and find out what's going on," said Daven, confidently, although Tarryn detected a slight quaver in his voice.  
"I'll go with you," said Tarryn, quickly, and Daven nodded, but didn't say a word. "And Syr'la, Pi, if you don't hear from us in five minutes, close the hatch and bring up the shields. We'll be sure to check in if everything is fine, which I'm sure it is, but..." She trailed off, not sure how she would finish the sentence. She wasn't completely sure that she wanted to finish it.

They set off quietly, trying to keep the noise of their boots on the cold durasteel floor to a minimum, but every step seemed as if it was loud enough to be heard on the other side of the planet. Tarryn gripped her lightsaber tightly, turning her knuckles white. She could hear the blaster fire clearly now, the sound echoing off the high ceilings of the spaceport. Then--

The sound of more footsteps grew from around the corner, with the laser fire not far behind. Tarryn could sense several presences, but their identities were clouded by the strong feelings of panic radiating from them. Daven motioned to her to stay where she was, and Tarryn pressed herself against the wall, finger on her lightsaber's activation button.

Poised to defend herself, Tarryn readied herself for action as the footsteps curved around the corner, only to nearly drop her lightsaber in surprise as her training master, Master Serran, rounded the corner, carrying a youngling on her shoulders and trailing several more, two of whom were deflecting blaster bolts with their small training lightsabers. "The--ship?" Serran gasped, faltering slightly as she repositioned the young girl perched on her back.

There was a cry of pain behind them, and Serran blanched. Before she could turn back, Daven pointed down the corridor. "Down that way, straight ahead. Tarryn will lead you. I'll keep them occupied."

"Daven--" protested Tarryn, but he silenced her with a solemn glance.

He swallowed hard. "If I'm not back--if I... well, if I'm not right behind you, take off. Don't wait. The safety of the younglings and all of you is more important, and--" Cutting off abruptly, he leapt out in front of a youngling that had fallen behind, absorbing a laser blast with his hand. "Just _GO!_"

Tarryn, despite her misgivings, didn't need to be told twice. Scooping up one of the straggling younglings in her arms, she turned and ran for the ship with as much speed as she could muster. She was tempted to look back over her shoulder, but she made herself stare straight ahead at the ship. _Almost there, almost there... and Daven's right behind me._

And then the hatch began to close. "Dammit, Pi, I'm here!" she muttered under her breath, and sped up, drawing energy from the Force to move her legs faster. _This is going to hurt tomorrow_, she thought to herself. Thankfully, ahead of her, Master Serran was just dashing up the gangway, and Tarryn herself managed to get there just moments later. It was only then that she allowed herself a look back through the closing hatch.

As the hatch latched closed and the thrum of the engines kicked into full gear below her, Tarryn barely reacted, still staring towards the end of the hall. But then there was a rustle of fabric, and Tarryn blearily realized, coming out of her reverie, that someone had taken up a seat next to her on the durasteel floor. It was one of the younglings who had survived--a little blonde girl who looked about five or so.

"What happened?" she asked, drawing her knees up to her chest. "Why were they trying to kill us? We're just kids."

"I don't know," said Tarryn, shaking her head. "I don't know." She bit her lip. "I _wish_ I knew. It's like the galaxy's turned upside down and I can't figure out which way is up. We're the guardians of peace and justice--why would they kill people like, like..."

"Daven?"

Tarryn turned sharply to look at the girl, who ducked her head sheepishly. "Sorry--Master Serran says I has... have trouble turning off my tel-e-pa...pa-thy when I'm tired. And, um, upset." She twisted a lock of hair around one finger, and shuffled her small feet around on the durasteel. "I'm going to miss Cera and Faren and Jarell."

"Well, they're one with the Force now--" began Tarryn, before cutting off abruptly, shaking her head. "They sure are, but that doesn't help anything, does it? I can talk about how there is 'no death, only the Force', but it's not going to feel better for _us_, having lost them."

"It's really hard," said the girl. "But I'm happy the war is over. I used to be excited about it, but now I don't think I would be anymore. I don't think I'd like fighting. Too many people get hurt."

"I wish the war really _was_ over," said Tarryn, staring up at the durasteel ceiling. "I really wish it was. But I think our war is just beginning now. I don't think they're going to stop there. But sometimes--sometimes, you have to fight wars. Because what you're fighting for is just and right, and because if you don't, even more people are going to get hurt. And sometimes you have to, even if you don't want to."

"How do you do it? Keep fighting, even if you don't want to anymore?"

Tarryn gave the little girl a wry smile. "We do the best we can," she said. "Now, off to bed with you," she added, shooing the little girl away.

"But what about you?"

"I'll be fine. But you need your rest. Off with you."

The little girl stared at her for a few moments, but turned and left Tarryn sprawled out on the floor, staring at the ceiling. But it wasn't the ceiling she saw; all she saw in her mind was that last image of the brown robe sprawled out on the durasteel. Eventually someone came and carried her away.

------------------------------------------------------

Tarryn awoke later to the sound of Pi's voice: "... arrive in the Borleias system in a couple minutes. We'll change course from there to throw off pursuit. I was thinking we'd head for Ord Mantell or maybe someplace on the mid or outer rim, somewhere with a lot of crowds where we won't be easily noticed--" 

"Hey," Tarryn said, stretching, and blinking her eyes to clear them. "No making devious plans without me." She sat up straight from her makeshift bed across a few seats on the bridge--someone must have put her there while she was sleeping--and turned to face the others.

"Good morning, sunshine," said Syr'la, giving her a wave from his position inside the door frame. "We were wondering when you were going to wake back up." He tugged at the sleeves of his tunic a little bit, and shifted slightly.

Tarryn tried to laugh, but it sounded more like a gurrcat that was being strangled underwater. She hurriedly turned it into a cough. "Hello, everyone," she said, feeling a bit embarrassed, but the feeling quickly turned to confusion at the whole situation. "Good..." She frowned. "Whatever it is. Now, will someone please tell me what in the Hells of the Sith is going on here?"

Master Serran's expression was somber. "We were preparing to leave when the alarm went off in the Temple. The Republic Army--" She shivered. "The Republic Army came, and they... they turned on us. As far as we know, most of the other Jedi that were in the Temple--are dead."

_Dead_. The word seemed to echo in the small bridge, or, Tarryn thought to herself, perhaps it was just echoing in her head. Daven, lying there, like a child's doll broken and discarded on the floor--

She realized that her hands were shaking, and took a deep breath. _There is no emotion; there is peace_, she mentally recited to herself. _There is no ignorance; there is knowledge. There is no passion; there is serenity. There is no death... there is the Force._ Although the words were no comfort to her, the living, now that she was a little more calmed down it was easier to imagine that the dead were in a better place, one with the Force.

"Are we the last, then?" Tarryn asked, hesitantly, banishing the image of Daven's corpse from her mind. "Are we all that's left?"  
Pi shrugged. "There are hundreds of Jedi out returning from the war. I'm sure some of them have escaped somehow."

"What I can't understand, though," said Syr'la, "is _why_. Why would the Army of the Republic be killing Jedi?"

"Well--" began Serran, and then stopped abruptly and frowned. "I suppose there's no harm in telling you now. There's been a lot of tension between the Jedi and the office of the Chancellor. Just before I started going around to collect the younglings, Mace and a couple others went out to find out if the Chancellor was going to give up his emergency powers. My best guess is that something went... badly wrong."

"Master Serran," said a familiar voice, "you told us to tell the truth all the time. That was an understatement, I believe."

Master Serran grinned wryly, and rolled her eyes in the direction of the door. "Well, _Ludi_, sometimes there are no words."

Tarryn, Pi and Syr'la looked at each other. "So this is the famous Ludi?" Syr'la asked, at last.

It was the little blonde girl from before, poking her head around the doorway. A supposed orphan of the birth name Ludi Billane had been the subject of a heated custody controversy several years ago between her mother and the Order. Only recently had the news fully lost interest in her. _This is her_? thought Tarryn, with some mixture of disbelief and amusement.

The girl scowled at Syr'la, crossing her arms over her chest and sticking out her lower lip. "I hate that name. That's what they always call me when they follow me around with the big hol...holocams, and I don't like those people. I'm Aris-Del Wari. Aris-Del, or Aris. Got it?"

She looked so serious that Tarryn almost giggled, though she thought better of it at the last moment. "Lu--er, Aris, how old are you?" she asked.

Aris looked rather suspicious for a moment before speaking. "I'm four years old," she said, proudly. "And six months."

"And quite precocious," said Serran, drily. "And precocious little younglings need their sleep. Come on, let's get you to bed, shall we?"

After Serran had shuffled Aris off to bed with no small protests, the group returned to their conversation. "I still can't believe this," said Tarryn, leaning against the bunk. "How could--how could any of this happen? We're supposed to be the protectors of peace and justice in the galaxy? Why would they turn on us this way?"

"There are a great deal many questions that none of us can answer, I believe," said Serran, slowly. "We may have to search for the answers."

"There's something, at least: a mission," said Tarryn.

"And we must train the younglings," Pi chimed in. "No matter what, the Jedi Order must carry on, in some way. And I think we may have the best chance of making that happen."

There was a grim silence. Although the thought of a future for the Order was heartening, that they were possibly the only ones left who could provide that in the galaxy was not something any of them wanted to think about in depth.

"Well, all right," said Syr'la, breaking the silence at last. "But where do we go from here? Our cause may be noble, but how are we going to eat? Jedi we may be, but we still haven't discovered the secret of drawing nutrition from the air. And I doubt we'll still have access to our credit accounts."

Serran stifled a laugh. "That's my Syr'la. Well," she said, thoughtfully, "I can't really be sure. But we have a ship, and a bunch of able workers--that's a start. There's a high demand for cargo haulers these days, and we can pick up some jobs in the ports. We can start there."

"Sounds all right," said Tarryn. "But, well..."

"Hm?"

Tarryn sighed, and then let out a short, barking laugh. "I just never expected to find myself as something other than a Jedi."

"We're still Jedi," said Pi. "We may not have the same duties or the same ability to move about in society, but that doesn't change who we are inside. Jedi we are, and Jedi we will forever stay."

"'Sright," said Syr'la. "We'll be _secret_ protectors of peace and justice. It'll be even more fun. Don't you remember watching _Hawkbatman_ on those long hyperspace flights?"

"How could I forget?" said Tarryn. "And we'll get elaborate costumes, and Ludi can be my sidekick. That would be a blast."

"Now, younglings, peace and justice are serious business!" mock-scolded Serran, before taking a more serious tone with her former pupils. "But I think that's where we ought to start. And someday... someday, when whoever is responsible for this--be it Palpatine or someone else--when they fall, we'll be ready to re-establish the Jedi Order."

Pi grinned. "Sounds like a plan."

"I agree wholeheartedly," added Syr'la.

Smiling slightly, Tarryn nodded. "I'm in. Here's to surviving--and resurrecting that which we've lost. May the Force be with us all."

------------------------------------------------

Quick Author's Notes: Ludi "Baby Ludi" Billane, or Aris-Del Wari is a canon character, though from the official AotC HoloNet tie-in articles. She was taken to the Jedi Temple after surviving an earthquake that the Jedi rescue workers presumed killed her parents. After it turned out that her mother was still alive, her mother, Jonova, launched a very public campaign to get her daughter back despite the Jedi's refusal, sparking a wide controversy.

Now that that's cleared up, I'll just say quickly that I appreciate constructive reviews and that I appreciate advice--this is my first time posting in this fandom, after all.


	2. Chapter 1: Fifteen Years Later

"Um, Tarryn?"

"Call signs only, Saber One."

"Yeah, whatever. Serenity, Saber One. Are you quite sure about this? It doesn't seem... um, right to me."

Tarryn groaned. Pi was impossible sometimes. "Listen, we've been through this already. You're worried about the fact that we're committing an act of piracy? These people would kill us and not even call it murder. We're not legally allowed to exist under their laws. So this is piddly stuff. Back me up, Two."

"She's right, Lead," said Aris, apologetically. "Come on, calm down. You're not going to get in trouble for this. At least not any more trouble than we're already in. And I don't want to see you getting shot up just because you're panicking. You're our best pilot--we need you."

"Ser--er, Captain?"

"Sorry, Saber One," said Serran, leaning back in her command chair. "We're not changing the mission profile. And remember, we're getting these goods to people who need them. And if you do a good job, I'll give you a cookie."

"Fine," Pi groaned. "All right, all right, you've convinced me."

"Hooray!" Tarryn and Aris chorused. "Anyway," continued Tarryn, "they should be in-system within minutes, if the Magnificent Slicer King had his slices in the right places--"

"Of course I did," Syr'la interrupted sulkily, from his seat at one of the bridge consoles. "And here they are--three freighters and TIE escort have arrived. Six eyeballs only, standard model. See? I am infallible!"

"_Thank_ you, Zero, and cut the chatter please. Captain?"

Serran grinned, evilly. "Sabers, you are free to engage."

Tarryn heard Pi grumble over the comm, but she kicked her Z-95 Headhunter into full throttle, Aris following not far behind. Tarryn tried not to be nervous; she knew Pi and Aris knew what they were doing. They'd practiced maneuvers and simulated battles for hours, but when it got right down to it, in battle you never knew what would happen. She just hoped one of the stiffs in the TIE-fighters wouldn't be lucky enough to score a couple of hits on the aged fighters. While they were in good condition, they certainly weren't the newest models on the market and their shields wouldn't take more than a few hits.

Tarryn had never been very interested in piloting--not that she wasn't good at it, she'd just never liked it much. But right now, gripping the edge of the control board and watching Pi and Aris go out there, she would have liked nothing better than to be out there with them.

"Tarryn? Not nervous, are you?" asked Syr'la, leaning back in his chair. "They'll be fine, you know."

She laughed. "Oh, I just wish there was something I could do. It's all in their hands, now, I suppose. And in the hands of the Force."

"Mm," said Syr'la, and glanced down at the sensor board. "Oh, there's one down."

"_What?!_" cried Tarryn. "Here, let me look at that!" she said, pushing him over a chair so she could get a better look at the sensor board. "There's Aris painting two--wait, the freighter's coming around. Trying to go to lightspeed. Soru, Lessa," she said, switching her headset back on, "target the engines and the communications array. Can't let them get away now, can we?"

"Got it, boss!" she heard from Soru, followed by Lessa's cheerful, "I'm on it!" A second later, streaks of red-gold light lanced out from the gunner's posts beneath the bridge toward the Imperial freighter ahead. Aris and Pi, returning from their run on the TIEs, targeted the antennae on the freighter's bow, creating a brilliant explosion just as the charred remains of the engines became visible through the debris from Soru and Lessa's laser barrage.

"A job well done, crew!" Serran whooped through the comm, over Tarryn and Syr'la's cheers. "Let's open this sucker up and see what we've pirated ourselves."

---------------------------------

The ship was dark as they boarded, blasters out. Although Tarryn was still more comfortable with a lightsaber in her hand, she'd learned well in the last fifteen years that a lightsaber was not something you wanted to be seen with in the Galactic Empire.

...and besides, blasters had their useful points. You couldn't stun someone with a lightsaber, for instance. She double-checked that her blaster was set to stun one more time as she took her first step into the Imperial ship's corridor. As much as she hated everything the Imps stood for, Serran had brought up the point that they would earn more ill will by killing Imperial officers, which they couldn't afford.

Not to mention it meant that she wouldn't have to hesitate to use it. The thought brought a little smirk to her face, which she killed instantly. _There is no emotion, there is peace. No vengeance, justice._ Killing Imps for revenge wouldn't bring back the past.

Still, though, they'd caused her more than enough trouble in the last fifteen years. There was the time on Ord Mantell, when they'd had a very near scrape, and once back on Corellia, when she and Soru, on a supply run, had been held briefly by the Imperial garrison there, and she'd thought that it was going to be the end of everything. _No love of the Imps, even forgetting--_

She broke off from her thoughts and moved slightly to the other side of the corridor, to avoid a spray of bare wires poking out of a durasteel panel in the wall, and led the group out into the bridge.

The officers were all clustered together near the command board, all four of them. Young men, and from the looks of it, very scared. She felt a pang of pity for them, but pushed it aside as she waved her blaster in the air. "Hello, gentlemen," she said, amiably. "Pleasure to meet you. Captain... Captain Varten of Saber Force, and let me tell you, it's a _pleasure_ to be doing business with you today." She winced inwardly at the slight hesitation in using her alias, but managed to keep a mostly straight face.

The four men stared at her for a moment, until one courageously cleared his throat, and stuttered, "Y-you can't do this. It's illegal. The Empire--" he gained more confidence as he went on, "--the Empire will see to it that you're all executed or sent to Kessel. If you leave now, we won't report you."

Tarryn chuckled lightly, and turned to Aris on her left. "How amusing," she said. "They think we care."

"What an amusing assumption indeed," murmured Aris, and then louder: "You must understand: the punishment for piracy may indeed be death or Kessel, but that means that they'd have to catch us first. Cargo manifest, please? We don't want to hurt any of you if we don't have to, but we can always take the manifest off your dead bodies."

Grinning inwardly at Aris's deadpan delivery, Tarryn waved her hands. "Tie them up, boys," she said, motioning to Soru and Noran, waiting behind her. "And then let's get to work."

It was a quick heist. The vessel had been chosen _because_ of that, really--easy to get in and out, quick target. Tarryn, for the most part, concerned herself with erasing the records of their own ship from the targeting computer of the Imp craft and whistling cheerfully while pacing back and forth across the bridge while Aris grinned eerily at their captives.

Soon enough, the two padawans returned, looking tired. Everyone had agreed, prior to this venture, that they shouldn't use any Force powers--the Empire was more likely to spend less time tracking down a group of ordinary pirates than a group of _Jedi_ pirates. "Everything's packed away, Captain!" said Soru, cheerfully, dusting his palms. "We're clear to leave--"

"Get down!" Noran yelled, suddenly, and knocked his more talkative friend to the floor just as a bright red blaster bolt came lancing through the spot where he'd been.

Aris was first to recover, her blaster tracking immediately toward the direction the bolt had originated from--the hallway the two boys had come out of a moment ago. She fired once, and there was the unpleasant sound of charred flesh. Narrowing her eyes, she fired again, and again. There was a moment of silence, followed by the sound of fabric sliding across metal.

"All right," said Aris, mildly, re-holstering her blaster. "Let's get out of here."

"Quite," said Tarryn, nodding, and stepped neatly over the body of the dead Imp officer. "I think we've had rather enough of this place."

--------------------------------

The Imp vessel on its way, the group sat down to a celebratory dinner in the ship's tiny refectory.

"Here's to Saber Force, and the destruction of the Empire," said Master Serran, raising a glass of some fizzy drink they had lifted from the stolen cargo.

"Hear, hear!" the rest chorused, clinked glasses, and drank. Even Pi, who had originally been hesitant about the prospect of piracy, joined in, and looked about as pleased as the rest.

Tarryn took a sip, and replaced her glass on the table. "So, what did everyone think of our first raid?"

"Awesome!" said Lessa. "It was kind of... well, it was cool." She shrugged, looking a little sheepish. She was the youngest of the bunch, and often prone to odd outbursts. "It's better than running and hiding from the Imps, innit?"

"Hell yeah!" agreed Soru, while Syr'la grinned, looking up from fiddling with his datapad.

"I have to agree with Lessa, there," said Syr'la. "If we can keep causing trouble for them... we can't do much ourselves, but I've heard of other efforts at rebellion against the Empire. We can help distract the Imps..."

He made a few keystrokes. "Not to mention the money's not bad. At current prices for this stuff on the black market... let's just say we're going to have enough money for the next few months at the very least. And that's only if we sell a cross-section."

Serran looked quite pleased with herself. "Really!" she said. "Well, that's certainly excellent..."

"I thought it was quite well done, myself," said Noran, now a tall, dark-haired young man that reminded Tarryn some days of Daven. "Fast, easy... there was only that one little snag, really..."

"_What_ snag?" demanded Serran, frowning, and Tarryn winced. She'd forgotten to mention...

"Uh. Um, we didn't realize there was one unsecured officer, and he tried to shoot at us..." Tarryn realized the napkin in her lap was twisting itself, and got a grip on her telekinesis. "One-time mistake." She coughed. "Well, _he'll_ never try that again."

"_I_ shot him," Aris cut in, elbowing Tarryn firmly in the ribs. "It was my mistake. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again. I didn't have time to set my weapon to stun, and he was firing with full power. It was a tactical decision."

There was a pause, and then, slowly, Serran nodded. "It sounds like you had to think quickly, and there wasn't much you could do. After all, our primary goal, above all else, is to protect each other." She sighed. "Well, regrettable, but even so it'll let them know we're serious business. Good work today, everyone, and you're released for the night--"

A chorus of scrapings and creakings commenced as nearly everyone made to leave the table in unison. "--although I'd like Tarryn and Syr'la to stay behind for a moment," Serran finished.

"Oooh, trouble!" chorused Lessa and Soru as they passed by, with a wave, and Tarryn grimaced. _They're probably right about that for once--I really did screw up, missing that trooper_, she thought, grimly, and turned to face her fate.

Once the others were out of the room, Serran leaned forward across the table and steepled her fingers. "All right," she said. "I've thought this over, and it was a really hard decision to make for me."

_Here it comes_, thought Tarryn.

"Syr'la," she continued, "when can you have a list of prospective next targets for me? I think this could work out for us."

Tarryn blinked. "Er, excuse me, ma'am?"

Serran shrugged. "We might as well. Start our own little rebellion out here, and make some money on the side. Tarryn, I'll need you to develop a standardized procedure for running these missions, as well help Syr'la go over the list to determine the best targets. If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "And get... oh, Soru to begin drafting a requisitions list for the next time we're planetside. Food, uniform clothes for our little pirate band..." She grinned. "And more weaponry."

"Yes, ma'am!" said Syr'la, and saluted cheerily, before running off, datapad under his arm.

Tarryn looked sideways at Serran. "So... you think this is a good idea?"

Serran raised an eyebrow. "You don't think so?"

"No, no." Tarryn frowned, and then let out a low chuckle. "Well, it certainly wasn't what I thought I'd be doing in fifteen years back when... well, fifteen years ago. But I think it'll be fine, I guess." She leaned back against the table. "I'm just worried about the kids, that's all. I missed the one trooper in the initial sweep--I mean, we all could have died--"

"You worry far too much," said Serran, laying a hand on Tarryn's. "They're young, but they can handle themselves just fine." She grinned. "Most of them are _far_ more mature than you were at that age--"

"Oh, stop," said Tarryn, beginning to feel the corners of her mouth tugging upwards into a smile, despite the flush of embarrassment from worrying about nothing. "Well, I suppose that's mainly true." She shrugged. "I guess I'd better get some sleep, anyway."

"Hey, you deserve it," said Serran, clapping her lightly on the shoulder. "Go get some rest so we can be ready in the morning for more exciting adventures in the wilds of space."

Tarryn cracked a grin. "You make this sound like Hawkbatman."

"Who's to say it isn't?"


End file.
